Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees
Mr. Monk and the Birds and the Bees is the fifth episode of the sixth season of Monk. Plot Late at night, a burglar, Dewey Jordan, breaks into a house. But this is not any ordinary burglary: Dewey carefully wipes his feet before breaking in, and the home’s owner, a sports agent named Robert Sherman, is there, to greet him. It seems that Sherman has concocted an insurance scam. In the scam, Dewey will “steal” some valuables from Sherman's house, and the two men will split the insurance payoff. But Dewey doesn’t know Sherman’s real plan. As Dewey is getting started, Sherman comments that there's been a change of plans: he won't be calling the insurance company. At that point, Sherman coolly draws a revolver in his left hand, which he announces is Dewey's gun. Before Dewey can figure out what Sherman is implying, Sherman suddenly conjures a nickel-plated pistol in his right hand, which he says is his own gun, the gun that he's going to use to kill the intruder. Just as Dewey is realizing what Sherman means when he says "intruder", Sherman suddenly shoots him dead with the pistol. The sound of the shot wakes up Sherman's wife Pam, who comes running downstairs to investigate. When she comes in and turns on the lights, she notices Dewey lying dead on the floor and asks Sherman why he shot him. Sherman claims that the man had a gun, and mistakenly holds up the pistol he just used to shoot Dewey, but then he immediately notices his mistake. He promptly raises the revolver and shoots her on the spot. Sherman then rolls Dewey's dead body over, and places the revolver in Dewey's hand. After fitting it into the hand, he fires the weapon at the entryway, causing a bullet to splinter off the doorframe, to do the the double duty of getting gunpowder residue on Dewey's hands, and also make it look like he was trying to shoot Sherman. Sherman then sits down, feigns shock, and calls 911. The next morning, Monk and Natalie join Stottlemeyer and Disher at the crime scene, which looks like a routine burglary gone bad. Sherman tells the police this story: he was lying in bed, and his wife went downstairs to adjust the thermostat; Sherman heard a shot, then ran downstairs with his own gun, and found the burglar standing over his wife’s body, and the intruder fired at him, but missed, and Sherman returned fire, killing him in self-defense. Sherman also pretends that he never has known Dewey Jordan nor has he ever met him in person. Stottlemeyer expresses frank admiration for Sherman, saying, “he’s the man.” But Monk has noticed some odd things, and instead thinks Sherman is “the guy.” He quickly points out that there are several problems with Sherman's story: for one, it’s suspicious that Dewey Jordan took the trouble to wipe his feet before entering the house – especially when Sherman has just told Monk to do the same thing. Later, when Monk and Randy search Sherman's bedroom, they find that he has unplugged the phone. Furthermore, if Sherman's wife was downstairs because she was cold, why did she leave her slippers upstairs? And if Sherman really heard the gunshot upon hearing the sound of his wife screaming, why, after he grabbed his pistol, did he take the time to shut the lockbox before heading downstairs? Lastly, Stottlemeyer has told Sherman that if he'd been in the same situation, he'd have emptied the whole gun into the intruder. So why did Sherman only need one round to kill the Dewey? Meanwhile, Julie and her boyfriend, Tim Sussman, are outside waiting for Natalie. Sherman goes out intending to send them away, and has an unusual interest in Julie’s T-shirt, which features a romantic photograph of them taken at the Bay City Pier amusement park, where Tim works. Monk thinks that Sherman and Dewey Jordan are linked, as there is no other reason why Dewey would have wiped his feet. But Stottlemeyer doesn’t see a connection, pointing out that Dewey Jordan was a career petty criminal, with at least 19 recorded arrests and multiple convictions for bad checks, drugs, and burglaries, among other charges, while Sherman’s record is clean as a whistle, except for one arrest: for driving with a suspended license. But while glancing at the sheets containing the two men's arrest records, Monk sees a potential overlap in their lives. Namely, Sherman's appearance in traffic court for his suspended license charge happened on the exact same day and at the exact same time that Dewey was in that courthouse for a bail reduction hearing. Monk suggests it is hardly a coincidence that the two men were in the same courthouse on the same day, just weeks before Dewey was killed in Sherman's house. Monk and Natalie head down to a funeral to confront Sherman, as he isn't answering their phone calls. They accidentally knock over several urns containing the cremated ashes of several people (including Sherman's wife), and have to scramble to put all the ashes back where they belong before Sherman and his secretary come around the corner. Confronted about his lie, Sherman continues to deny having ever seen Dewey Jordan before the shooting, and just says that Dewey saw his expensive things and decided to rob him. At her high school, Julie is surprised and flattered to be approached by Clay Bridges, a star football player, asking for study help. Things quickly escalate, and before long Natalie and Julie are arguing about whether Julie should go out with Clay or stick with Tim; Natalie is afraid that Julie is about to dump Tim, whom Natalie approves of, and Julie defiantly does just that, going so far as to burn all her souvenirs, including the photo T-shirt she and Tim got on their trip to the Bay City Pier. What neither Natalie nor Julie know is that in reality, Clay has been paid off by Sherman's girlfriend/secretary to go out with Julie. The next day, Monk and Natalie go to Dewey Jordan's apartment. Dewey's landlord mentions that Dewey was a problematic tenant, always coming and going frequently and regularly being late on his rent. Monk finds a few gaming tickets from the Bay City Pier amusement park on a table in the living room. He is interrupted when Natalie comes out of the bathroom, still fuming over her argument with Julie from the night before. As she pleads with Monk to "have a talk" with Julie, Monk notices that the panel covering an air vent in the wall is all rusty, but the screws are all brand new, suggesting that Dewey was using it to hide something. Removing the panel reveals that Dewey kept a gun hidden there, and immediately pokes another hole in Sherman's story: why didn't Dewey take his own gun to the "burglary"? The landlord suggests that perhaps Dewey had another gun, but Monk points out that if that were the case, Dewey would keep ammunition for a .38 caliber in the vent, and there isn't, the only ammunition on hand being that for this gun, which is a .22 caliber. Because Julie is shutting her out, Natalie asks Monk to "have a talk" with her. Monk couldn’t be more uncomfortable, so he enters Julie’s room and asks her to play along, so they just appear to be discussing things, as Natalie is listening at the door. After a few minutes, he starts to excuse himself, saying that should be good enough, but Julie breaks down crying, admitting how confused she is - she's powerfully attracted to Clay, but isn't sure how to describe what she's feeling, and asks Monk what it really feels like to be in love. Monk rises to the occasion, openly telling Julie about how he fell in love with Trudy every day, and how Trudy was the love of his life. He tells Julie that she doesn’t have to hurry to find her "Trudy"; he promises her that it will happen, and when it does come (which may take months or years), she will find that it will be worth the wait. It seems that Monk has put Julie back on the right road, but a twist comes up when Monk and Natalie are walking down the street, and catch Clay Bridges in the act of making out with another girl. Natalie demands to know what’s going on, and Clay admits the girl is his “real” girlfriend, and he’s not cheating on Julie. He claims a woman claiming to be Natalie’s sister approached him and, citing concern that Tim was wrong for Julie, paid Clay to break them up. When he describes Julie's "aunt", Monk immediately realizes he was bribed by Sherman's secretary. His suspicions are confirmed when he notices the envelope with the money used to pay Clay has an insignia on the seal that he previously saw on some envelopes in Sherman's bedroom. Monk and Natalie rush to the Bay City Pier, where Tim is on duty. Natalie tells Tim that Clay was paid to go out with Julie. Tim asks her why someone would do that, and Natalie points out Sherman in the crowd. Monk prepares to follow Sherman to stop him. Here’s What Happened Monk has spotted Sherman at the park, and he follows him, trying to get to the photo booth before his rival gets there. Meanwhile, Natalie gives the summation to Tim: Just as Monk suspected, Sherman lured Dewey Jordan to his house, to frame him for the murder of Sherman’s wife. Four weeks ago, as Monk also has confirmed, Sherman and Dewey met at the courthouse and Sherman must have told Dewey he was about to pull an insurance scam and needed an accomplice. They had to meet somewhere to plan the "burglary," and that place happened to be the Bay City pier, explaining the theme park tickets Monk found in Dewey's apartment. This is where Sherman's and Julie's lives crossed. The day Sherman and Dewey arranged to meet at the pier to discuss the details happened to be the same day that Julie and Tim were having their photo taken a few feet away. Natalie reminds Tim that there were people standing behind him and Julie when their picture was taken. More specifically, he captured Sherman conversing with Dewey in the background. When Sherman saw Julie wearing the T-shirt right after the murders, he panicked, as the photo would instantly disprove his story that he had never met Dewey Jordan. He had to make sure that no one saw the shirt, especially with Julie being an acquaintance of Monk, Stottlemeyer, and Disher. So Sherman had his mistress contact Clay and pose as Julie's aunt to woo Julie away from Tim, knowing that at least she would stop wearing the T-shirt, or even better, she would throw away or destroy the T-shirt (ultimately, the latter). But now that Monk and Natalie have gotten the truth out of Clay, Sherman knows that they're onto him, so he has come back to the pier to find the originals of the photo and destroy them also. Monk follows Sherman through the park, and almost loses track of Sherman when he has to scramble across a bumper car floor and dodge the riders. He loses track of Sherman, until the park photographer yells for help as Sherman forces his way into the photo booth at gunpoint and steals half a dozen backup disks from the date when he met Dewey. Monk chases Sherman all the way to the end of the pier and tackles him, but Sherman twists free long enough to throw the disks into the water. Sherman starts to gloat, just as Tim, who has run after them, dives into the water. There is a few moments tense wait, until Tim surfaces, with the disks safe in his hand. Monk proudly reminds the flabbergasted Sherman that Tim - Julie's real boyfriend - is "on the swim team." The police arrive, and Sherman is marched off the pier in handcuffs, as Stottlemeyer and Disher admire the incriminating photo. Randy admits that he's made use of the pier's extra services and had the photo printed on a coffee mug, joking that it'll be a nice present for the jury - they can examine "Exhibit A" and drink out of it at the same time, and undoubtedly, the coffee will taste guilty. Monk and Natalie approach Tim and Julie, now back together. Tim is huddled in a towel after his freezing plunge into the Bay, and Natalie informs him that he's already being lionized as a hero on the radio - a description that Julie very much agrees with. She tells her mother and Monk that the two of them are going to spend the rest of the day together, and Natalie is delighted. Before they go, Julie gives Monk a grateful kiss on the cheek. As soon as they’re gone, Monk hurriedly asks for a wipe, which Natalie refuses to give him. Background Information and Notes * Natalie finally gets to give the entire summation. Previously, she has only given small parts of the summation (this can be seen in episodes like "Mr. Monk Goes to a Rock Concert"). * Gail O'Grady, who first appeared in the pilot, "Mr. Monk and the Candidate," as Miranda St. Claire, appears as "Lovely Rita." This makes her the second actress, after Brooke Adams, to play two different characters on the series. * This episode is styled like a classic Columbo ''episode, in that we are shown who the culprit is and how he committed the crime, and the main character must prove it. * Originally, the incriminating evidence for Robert Sherman and Dewey Jordan's meeting (in Julie's photo) was intended to take place at a tunnel of love attraction at the theme park instead of near the pier, with Monk also chasing Sherman through the Tunnel of Love to retrieve the datadisks containing the photos. However, the set for the Tunnel of Love proved too costly to create as there weren't either tunnels of love or similar attractions at any real theme parks nearby, causing them to rewrite the climax and the motive slightly. Quotes ''(Monk and Natalie are trying to sort ashes spilled together from several funeral urns.) Monk: (separating them with a card) No, this one goes over here... Natalie: You can tell? Monk: I can tell...! More or less. (Monk pours a portion of ashes from one funeral urn to another.) Natalie: What are you doing? Monk: Making them even. Natalie: Mr. Monk, these are people! Maybe they weren't the same size. Monk: Well, they are now. Monk: When it comes to this particular issue, I am probably the least qualified person in North America... Natalie: That's what makes you perfect! You waited for Trudy, you were faithful, you respected her! You're a wonderful role model. Monk: Huh? Natalie: ...In this particular case. Monk: (whispering) I'm supposed to be giving you "the big talk"... Julie: (whispering) Why? Monk: Because you're dating an older boy... Julie: No, I mean, why you? Monk: That's what I said! Monk: I think what your mother has been trying to say is, just don't worry. All your dreams will come true. But they don't have to come true this weekend, right? You can take your time, you can wait... Julie: Until I find "Trudy"? Monk: Just wait for Trudy. Believe in Trudy. Trudy will come. Natalie: Tim, I've been waiting a long time to say this: here's what happened... Disher: Backup disk, and I printed off a copy. Stottlemeyer: Well, you and your pal take a very nice, very incriminating picture. Disher: I put it on a mug, too. Stottlemeyer: What for? Disher: I figured the jury would appreciate it. They're human. They get thirsty. Exhibit A. Thank you very much. (Disher pretends to take a drink from the mug.) Disher: Mmm, guilty. 6.05